the other big story, traffic is just getting back to normal in vallejo where a deadly big rig crash shut down a busy highway at the height of the morning commute. the big rig plunged off an overpass and then burst into flames. that's when some good samaritans jumped into action. nbc bay area's monte francis is live in vallejo where he just got an update from the highway patrol. monte, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. westbound highway 37 reopened about 90 minutes and hazmat crews and firefighters are still here on the scene dealing with the aftermath of this crash. but take a look at some dramatic video that was taken just minutes after this crash occurred. you can see the big rig burst into flames after plunging from an on-ramp that connects the two highways. the big rig and a pick-up truck were involved in a xligs, sending the big rig over the

guardrail. the big rig plunged to the ground. two witnesses and an off-duty paramedic were driving by and rushed to the big rig driver's aid. they were able to pull him from the burning big ri and one of the witnesses even had a fire extinguisher he used to put out some of the flames. the big rig driver sadly later died at the hospital. although the road is now clear, the clean-up is far from over. >> it was an ace hardware truck carrying unknown amounts of hazmat. the solano county hazmat team is on the scene. >> reporter: highway 37 was shut down between interstate 80 and highway 121 for about three hours. the pick-up driver was not seriously injured. officers questioned, then released him at the scene. you can see the wreckage is still here and is smoldering just a bit.

hazmat crews will work throughout the day to clean up whatever was spilled. highway 37 is back open. but the connecters to 37 from highway 29 are still closed at this hour. we're told that it's not known what caused the crash or if alcohol was a factor. live in vallejo, monte francis, nbc bay area news. now we turn to more breaking news out of the central valley where a gunman opened fire at taft high school. one victim was flown to a hospital. a suspect also believed to be a student was taken into custody by kern county sheriff's deputies. it is believed the gunman used a shotgun in that attack. there could be a settlement announced today in the case of a dog ordered to be euthanized after it attacked a police force in crissy field. city officials say the dog is

vicious and should be put down. it all stems from an incident at crissy field back in august when ha 2-year-old american terrier attacked a police horse in an off-leash part of the park. more than 100,000 people have signed an online petition asking the city to spare the dog's life. the owner says his civil rights have been violated. >> you know, from what i've learned, hour they're treating me seasoned my dog is not fair. i think charlie deserves another chance. >> a new conference scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon where charlie's owner says he will make a fair and reasonable proposal to the city. new this morning, an update to a story we have been following in the east bay. the oakland zoo says the alligator that was found just yesterday guarding a stash of pot inside a castro valley home has died. alameda county sheriff's

deputies found the gator named mr. teeth when doing a routine probation check. it was in a tank, apparently guarding 34 pounds of dried marijuana. the gator was taken to the oakland zoo where it was placed in quarantine after its owner said it was very sick. that owner is now in jail. some relief for a hayward mother whose daughter was kidnapped in 1998 and never seen again. a bone fragment found in a well in linden does not match michaele garecht's dna. the well is believed to be a dumping ground for the so-called speed freak killers. in a blog post, garecht says she's disappointed there's still no answer what happened to michaela but goes on to say, quote, the feeling i felt was a sense of relief. san francisco police are hoping surveillance video will help them catch a suspected killer. police say this video right here shows a clean-shaven man with long hair walking with

46-year-old alia cruz back in october. that man was seen answering cruz's apartment in the tenderloin district. later that night, officers responded to a report of a disturbance at that same apartment and found cruz stabbed to death. as of now, investigators say there is no motive for this killing. anyone with information regarding the suspect is asked to call police. a bizarre ending to a home invasion in pittsburg. police say the woman, her boyfriend and two others staged a burglary to intimidate the husband and force him to move out. the husband called police tuesday to report a man breaking into his apartment on leland road. then the husband reportedly stabbed and killed the intruder after a fight. it turned out, the intruder was carrying a replica gun. the husband was not hurt and police say he will not be charged. a man accused of setting his girlfriend on fire will be in court today. officers and u.s. marshals arrested 22-year-old dexter

oliver at an oakland hotel monday. his girlfriend, 25-year-old starlah mstar lamar, remains in critical condition. she has severe burns to her face and chest. family members say oliver doused lamar with gasoline and set her on fire after she broke up with him sunday. was faulty radar to blame for monday's oil tanker crash on the bay bridge? documents were obtained indicating at least one racon tower was not working when the overseas ramar hit the bridge. on the coast guard's weekly local notice to mariners, racon "b" on the bay bridge is listed as inoperable. >> if the racon is not working, i've lost an important aide to me.

>> caltrans is responsible for the navigation equipment on the bay bridge. the agency says it is comparing notes with the coast guard. an attorney issued a statement saying many factors could have contributed to the accident saying, there are many potential causes for investigators to study such as mechanical failure, faulty navigational devices, unpredictable fog conditions and the absence of the bridge crew. you know that christina loren braved the very cold weather from twin peaks in san francisco where it was supposed to snow. did it? >> no. wait till i show you the radar. i know you're excited. let's show you what we're not getting in the santa rosa area this morning. beautiful clear shot here. let's show you the radar. up in the north bay, we have a little bit of spotty activity.

mount st. helena is getting a little bit of a dusting of snow. we take you a little further to the south over mt. hamilton, a little bit of a dusting. that's not what i'm talking about. let's get to it. take a look at big sur where we have some heavy snowfall coming down to 1,000 feet. that's where our snow ended up. we didn't have any active cells move over the bay area at the time. but still at 1,500 feet, even with temperatures climbing now that the sun is out. here in the bay area, still cold and it's going to get very cold throughout tonight. temperatures right now in the 40s and 50s. we're going to end up in the low 50s today. cold air rushing in throughout the day today. look at where we're headed. tomorrow morning, 25 degrees in livermore to wake up with. los gatos, about 26. it's going to be a cold start to the day, widespread frost. but we're warning nyou about it now. >> good deal.

still ahead at 11:00, the oscar nominations have been announced. we'll let you know which film nabbed 12 chances at an academy award. it's not mr. toe's wild ride but close. we'll take you on one of the bumpiest adventures you can experience under four-wheel drive here at the auto show in san jose. plus google chairman eric schmidt speaks out in north korea. and president obama just a minute ago nominated jack lew as treasury secretary. we'll take a look at both issues coming up in business. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits.

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i just made an unbeatable unsloppy joe pillsbury grands biscuits. let the making begin. that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. nominations for the 85th annual academy awards announced this morning in beverly hills. >> hosts seth macfarlane and emma stone announced the nominees. "lincoln" was the clear winner,

receiving 12 nominations, including best picture, best director and best actor, nods for daniel day lewis, sally fields and tommy lee jones. >> "life of pi" came away with 11 nominations. >> here's a complete list of the nominees for best picture. beast of the southern wild, zero dark thirty, lincoln, life of pi, amore, the silver linings playbook, django unchained. >> for the complete list of nominees, go to nbcbayarea.com and search the word oscar. pixar got a nomination for the movie "brave." but scott mcgrew says it's a controversial category. >> best animated picture. how can that be controversial? some animators feel that category is designed to keep their movies away from the best picture category. now, "brave" most likely

wouldn't have gotten a nomination for best picture. it was a nice movie but not the best picture. but there have been animated movies in the past that could have won the big prize. remember back in 2003, the best picture was "lord of the rings, return of the king." "finding nemo" came out that same here. it won best animated feature. but film historians now call "finding nemo" one of the best films, period. but it was never nominated for the big, big prize. video out of north korea this morning to your newsroom of eric schmidt, chairman of google. there he is on the left-hand side behind the tv camera. he's talking to the press. he called for greater internet freedom in north korea. maybe not a surprise particularly. google's always stood for internet freedom. but this is news wouworthy beca while it's easy to criticize north korea, it's more difficult to do it while you are in north korea. a few minutes ago, president obama officially nominated jack

lew as secretary of the treasury. for now, that nomination is official. >> yet another official change then in his cabinet potentially. thank you very much. changes in the south bay as well. but this is one a lot of folks look forward to. the silicon valley international auto show. >> bob redell is there. good thing they didn't give him the keys. >> reporter: i can't believe i got stuck in the passenger's seat but i think there's a good reason why i'm not behind the wheel of this car. you're about to feel why. there you go. we are in good hands. steve lorten, a professional driver, trying to give us an idea of the capabilities of this jeep grand cherokee. what can she do? >> we're at 30 degrees right here. let's do it. >> reporter: if i had a breakfast sandwich, i might have been able to add to the weight and tip it over. you take people through different disciplines as you call it just to show what a four-wheel drive can do.

i guess they're surprised by what? >> almost everything. like this one, for instance. this is our suspension demo. this is going to get really bumpy. hang on tight. we're going to run around this. it will shake you up. this is pretty much a kick right here. >> reporter: how hard is this to drive? i know you're a professional. but the layperson coming in here. >> it's all about time and miles. you've got to have a little experience. you have to cut your teeth somewhere. >> reporter: this is going to prove we have traction, i'm hoping. >> 35 degrees, 18 feet to the top. >> reporter: mission control ready for liftoff. that's what it feels like. is this the point where the brakes go out? >> exactly. i'm going to ask for some help from my grand cherokee. we just engaged the hill descent feature. this is nice and easy down. this is a computer-driven feature. >> reporter: thank you for the safe drive. appreciate it. >> you bet.

>> reporter: you know, that's one riding experience where they only let you ride. they won't let you drive. the professional there for the obvious reasons. but there are about 80 other cars out here that you can test drive. you come out here to the mchenry convention center, and kick the tires. it's a non-sales pressure environment, in other words, no one here is trying to sell you a car. you can actually come in here, sit down and you're not going to be hassled. if you want to come to the show, it runs today through sunday, 10:00 to 10:00 every day. except on sunday, they go to 6:00. >> just looking. meteorologist christina loren certainly not convertible weather. >> certainly not. you're going to get a windchill that you do not want to feel hitting you in the face. good morning to you. we do have a pretty good-looking day shaping up.

most of the cloud cover is starting to clear out of the bay area. that means clear skies are going to lead to a very cold start tomorrow morning. we have lingering activity. it's very spotty. you can see from our northern california radar picture. we have some spotty cells to moisture lingering around the bay area. this is where the snow ended up. look at this. big sur, the surrounding mountains, yeah, they picked up snow down to potentially 1,000 feet. we're going to have to wait to get everything confirmed from the national weather service. we'll have the latest for you tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. that is very rare. going to be interesting when we get the numbers. 51 in san jose. 48 in gilroy. 49 degrees right now in sunnyvale. temperatures will be cold throughout the weekend. highs in the low 50s, even a couple of upper 40s for today. 51 degrees in livermore. 50 in gilroy. 51 in san jose. and 49 degrees in los gatos. let's take you to the futurecast and show you what we're expecting. by 2:00, most of that shower activity is out of the bay area.

by 2:00 a.m., our skies are completely clear. that's going to lead to a very cold start tomorrow morning, potentially breaking some records. by about 10:00 a.m., temperatures are going to warm up when the sun is out. and we'll get a little bit of that patchy fog and drizzle as the fog rolls onshore. this is what we're expecting. 49 degrees inland today. 51 bayside. 50 degrees at the coast. deali saturday into sunday o slight chance, maybe 20% at best on sunday. that mostly goes for the north bay. keep that in mind. saturday's going to provide a little bit more sunshine for you. monday into wednesday, a little bit of a warm-up. we'll take whatever we can get. we'll be out of the 40s at that point. and lots of sunshine, up to about 58 degrees by wednesday. back to you, laura and marla. >> thank you. >> 58 sounds kind of warm. coming up at 11:00, surviving family members of a latin pop star jenni rivera's

entourage are placing blame on the owners of that plane that crashed and killed them np mexico. we'll tell you what action they took this morning. and how low is taking a democratic approach to retiring a piece of one of its mainstays? we'll explain.

welcome back. lawyers representing the families of latin singer jenni rivera's entourage have filed a lawsuit this morning against the company that operated the aircraft that crashed and killed them in mexico last month. survivors of rivera's publicist, makeup artist, hairdresser and lawyer are expected to sue las vegas-based starwood management which owned the leer jet on which they were traveling on. the group, which included the singer, had just taken off after

a concert in monterrey when the aircraft nosedived and crashed into a mountain. city college of san francisco's board of trustees meets today to continue its work on restructuring. it comes as the board asks california for an extension on its march 15th deadline. to fix money and management problems. as it stands, the city college will lose its accreditation if it's not done by then. tcsf says progress has slowed. teachers will not concede to a pay cut and department heads are resisting a plan to send them back to the classroom. governor jerry brown laid out his state budget plan for next year this morning. take a look at this. this is just the summary. that's how thick it is. the governor asking for about $2 billion in cuts, far less than the $25 billion from two years ago. extra tax revenue from prop 30 will help boost public funding for public schools from $54

billion to $56 billion. prop 30 funds will also go to higher education. about $125 million each for uc and csu. still governor brown says the state must live within its means and there will be cuts to certain welfare programs. testing begins today on the now bay lights project on the bay bridge. more than 25,000 l.e.d. bulbs have been attached on the western span. crews will run the first sequence test to make sure everything is in working order. computer software has been designed to change light patterns. the $8 million project was created to celebrate the bay bridge's 75th anniversary. the switch will officially be turned on in march and it will run for two years. when we return, monopoly is about to use a game piece. >> and it's up to you to decide which one goes into retirement.

sort of a monopoly survivor twist.

hasboro holding a facebook contest to eliminate one of its igt little monopoly game piece and introduce a new one. and you get to help choose which one. >> it's the latest effort to bring new excitement to the game if they created almost eight decades ago. facebook fans of monopoly on tuesday can vote on which piece to eliminate and also which piece to bring on. you can also help choose what the replacement token will be. they include a guitar, a robot, a diamond ring, a cat and a helicopter. the voting ends on february 5th. >> maybe good-bye thimble or wheelbarrow? >> i vote for the diamond ring. thank you so much for joining us. join us at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. >> [ fingers tapping ]

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